Dr Leonora Risse is an economist who specialises in gender equality.

Leonora is an Associate Professor in Economics at the University of Canberra, Adjunct Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, and a Research Fellow with the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia. She serves as an Expert Panel Member on gender pay equity for the Fair Work Commission and an Expert Panel Member for the Parliamentary Budget Office. Formerly she held roles with the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University and the Australian Government Productivity Commission. She earned her PhD in Economics from the University of Queensland.

Leonora is a co-founder and former National Chair of the Women in Economics Network (WEN), which works to elevate women in economics and create a more gender equitable economics profession across Australia.

Leonora’s research focuses on gender gaps in the workplace, including the gender pay gap and women’s under-representation in leadership and decision-making.

She engages regularly with governments and organisations on evidence-based policies and how to apply a ‘gender lens’ to policy analysis and design through gender responsive budgeting.

Leonora’s economic expertise extends to labour economics, disadvantage and wellbeing. She engages regularly with the media to empower everyday audiences with a greater understanding of economic issues.

Leonora created the Gender Equality Evidence Hub as a freely available resource that translates academic research on “what works” for gender equality into practical evidence-based actions that businesses, policymakers and community groups can take.

In 2021 she was named as one of Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy. In 2025 she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Economic Society of Australia (ESA) for exceptional and sustained contributions to women in economics and the Economic Society of Australia.

Qualifications

PhD in Economics, University of Queensland (2008)

Bachelor of Economics (Hons I), University of Queensland (2002) (University Medal)

Bachelor of Arts (Majors in Journalism and English), University of Queensland (2001)

appointments & affiliations

Current

Associate Professor in Economics, University of Canberra

Program Director, Pathways to Politics for Women, University of Canberra

Expert Panel Member (Gender pay equity), Fair Work Commission

Expert Panel Member, Parliamentary Budget Office

Adjunct Professor, Centre for Decent Work and Industry, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

Research Fellow, Women’s Leadership Institute Australia (WLIA)

Steering Committee, Gender Economic Equality Study, Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA)

Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (LCC)

National Economic Panel, Economic Society of Australia (ESA)

Previous

Research Fellow, Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (2019-2020)

Senior Research Economist, Productivity Commission (2009-2014)

National Chair, Women in Economics Network (WEN) (2020-2022)

Board Member, Gender Equity Victoria (2021-2022)

Social Policy Committee, National Foundation for Australian Women (2020-2023)

Senior Lecturer in Economics, RMIT University (2021-2023)

Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow, RMIT University (2017-2019)

Notable awards

Honorary Fellow, Economic Society of Australia (2025)

Alumna of the Year, Women’s College, University of Queensland (2024)

Apolitical 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy (2021)